


Deals Made with the Man Behind the Curtain

by hurinhouse



Category: White Collar
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-21
Updated: 2015-01-21
Packaged: 2018-03-08 12:33:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3209390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hurinhouse/pseuds/hurinhouse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Who needs Julian Larssen?  Middlemen are overrated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Deals Made with the Man Behind the Curtain

**Author's Note:**

> For the White Collar 100 prompt #133 - Games  
> AU for the end of ep 1.14

She stumbles, pulling them both down, bare feet digging into the dirt. They should have kept their shoes when they jumped from the plane. Kate thought Fowler's boat would have replacements. Kate thought a lot of things.

"Okay?" 

Limbs aching, they sway against a tree. He'd never thought to hold her again. Tear tracks carve through grime on her face, hair tangled with saltwater. She rubs his torn arm carefully, rallies with, "I'm good." 

They've come as far as they can through the jungle without trying the gate. He wishes he'd studied the plane's atlas before they jumped, that he'd seen the fractal on the beach's dock. The message is clear: Solve the equation or become quarry. Adler loves a puzzle and Neal was a fool to trust a deal. Now he's Vincent's most amusing piece, Kate by association. He wonders if this hidden island is in FBI jurisdiction.

She nods toward the gate, then looks back toward shore, wary. "Please. Can't we try?"

"It's a trap."

"Those animals will kill us by sundown."

"Maybe." The concrete below the gate looks new, so... maybe safety, probably death. 

"Neal, look. It's electric."

\--

 

"The prey have reached the gate, Sir." 

Vincent checks the monitor: the circuit box opens. He sees Neal, tie wound round his arm above a nasty-looking claw mark.

"Should I open it?"

"He won't come through if he thinks we opened it. Wait… "

Neal reaches in, teeth stripping wires. 

The gamekeeper's hand hovers over the gate switch. Neal brings the wires together and Adler lifts his rifle, "Release the game."

He keeps the safety on. It's poor sport to carelessly kill something else and once Neal has no choice, he won't risk Kate by running. Vincent will have his coordinates by morning. Then the hunt can resume.


End file.
